EL SEGUNDO – The NBA’s trading deadline passed at noon Thursday, and the Lakers did nothing. They didn’t even bother to practice after victories Tuesday over the Atlanta Hawks and Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns.

In fact, the Lakers did their heavy lifting three weeks ago.

That’s when they traded for Pau Gasol and changed the dynamic in the Western Conference. Teams had been scrambling to catch up since the Lakers acquired Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for spare parts Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton.

The Lakers are 9-1 since their Feb. 1 deal, including 7-1 with Gasol in their lineup. They meshed almost instantly with their new 7-foot center, and more than a few NBA observers have labeled the Lakers (37-17) the team to beat in the West.

It’s important to note that while Gasol was the NBA’s rookie of the year in 2002, participated in the 2006 All-Star Game and holds the Grizzlies’ franchise records for the most points, rebounds and blocks, he has played in relatively few big games. In fact, Gasol has played a grand total of 12 playoff games in his NBA career. Of course, he has played in big international tournaments such as the Olympics and the World Championships for his native Spain.

The hype of his first Lakers-Suns game and the Phoenix debut of former Lakers superstar Shaquille O’Neal did not appear to faze Gasol, however.

“The game was a lot of fun,” Gasol said. “Any time it’s an atmosphere like that, as a player you have a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun out there. It makes you go even harder. The win was big, obviously. … We felt good out there and got a good win.”

Trade winners: The Lakers’ trade for Gasol ignited a flurry of activity in the West, with the Suns acquiring O’Neal from Miami, the Dallas Mavericks acquiring Jason Kidd from New Jersey and the San Antonio Spurs picking up Kurt Thomas from Seattle.

So who made out best in the West?

The Lakers came out on top, according to a roundtable of ESPN reporters and columnists, with seven of eight picking the Gasol trade over the other deals.

“Pau turned the Lakers into an immediate title contender,” Chris Broussard wrote on ESPN.com “What Shaq brings to the Suns is all theoretical because we don’t know if he’ll stay healthy. Kidd makes the Mavericks better, but I don’t think it moves them ahead of L.A., Phoenix or San Antonio.”

What’s next: The Lakers make one of their four Staples Center appearances this month when they serve as the designated visiting team in Saturday’s matchup against the Clippers. Then it’s back on the road to face the SuperSonics on Sunday. They close out February with home games Tuesday against Portland and Thursday against Miami before traveling to Portland next Friday.

March brings the start of the playoff race. All but eight of the Lakers’ final 23 games are at Staples Center, including another game against the Clippers as the designated visiting team.

Elliott Teaford covers the Anaheim Ducks for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. He covered the Ducks for 12 years, including the Stanley Cup season, for the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Breeze before returning to the beat in 2018 for SCNG. He also covered the Lakers for five seasons, including their back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and '10. He once made a jump shot over future Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton during a pickup game in 1980 at Cypress College.